CONWAY - This was not the time for Arkansas Tech's football team to be in a giving mood.

The sixth-ranked Wonder Boys entered Saturday's game leading all NCAA Division II teams in turnover ratio with a plus-15 margin through nine games. But against rival Central Arkansas, Tech lost the ball five times in the first half - two more than it had done in any other game this season - then another fumble allowed the Bears to tie the game late in the fourth quarter.

That wasn't the only thing Tech would give up on this occasion.

UCA's defense stopped quarterback Jason Campbell inches short of the goal line in second overtime, and the Bears retained the Governor's Football Classic for a third straight year with a 38-31 victory over previously undefeated Tech before a sellout crowd of 10,032 fans at Estes Stadium.

The loss not only cost Tech (9-1, 8-1) the traveling trophy and its first unbeaten regular season since 1971, the Wonder Boys also failed to win a share of the Gulf South Conference title after Valdosta State defeated West Georgia to take the outright crown.

Tech, despite the loss, should still have a berth in the NCAA Division II playoffs when the field is announced today. However, the loss may cause the Wonder Boys to hit the road for their first-round game next week, possibly against Fayetteville State or North Carolina Central.

UCA (8-3, 6-3) took the ball first in the second overtime and scored in six plays, with Zak Clark hitting Aaron Fairooz with a 6-yard touchdown pass and Garrett Morgan kicking the extra point. Tech opened its possession with a 20-yard pass from Campbell to Michael Crooks, then ran the ball three straight times with R.J. Vanhook to get within a foot of the goal line.

Following a time out, Tech elected to go with the quarterback sneak to tie the game. Campbell, however, never broke the plane of the goal line, sending UCA's players into pandemonium and the Wonder Boys into dejection as the game ball was left on the spot where the play ended.

UCA forced the tie late in the fourth quarter after Tech's fifth fumble of the game as Crooks lost the ball while stretching for more yardage. Four plays later, Clark hit Fairooz with a 46-yard scoring strike, and Morgan's kick made it 28-28 with 4:21 remaining.

The Bears had a chance to win the game on their final possession in regulation, driving from their 18 to the Tech 19 with six seconds left. But Morgan, who had already missed three field-goal attempts, had his 36-yard attempt blocked by a leaping Cedric Flemons to force overtime.

Tech had the ball to start the first overtime and elected to run Vanhook four straight times to the 10. On third down, however, the Wonder Boys dropped a wide-open pass, forcing Ewersmann to kick a 27-yard field goal and give Tech a 31-28 lead.

UCA, however, ran three plays before sending out Morgan to kick a 37-yard attempt. This time, though, the kick went through the uprights, forcing the second overtime.

Tech avoided disaster at the outset after Thomas Hosey had the ball stripped from him on the opening play, with Cory Cangelosi's recovery giving UCA the ball on the Wonder Boys' 34. UCA then used a pass and three straight running plays by Kentrel Rogers to move to the Tech 6 before being faced with a fourth-and-1 situation.

With Morgan nursing a groin injury, the Bears elected to go for a first down. The play went to Rogers off left tackle, but Tech linebacker Brett Hobbs was there to drop him for a 1-yard loss and end the drive.

Tech then took advantage of a 21-yard punt which put the ball on the UCA 31. The Wonder Boys needed six plays to cover the distance, with Campbell hitting Crooks with a 3-yard touchdown pass and Ewersmann adding the PAT for a 7-0 lead with 3:48 remaining.

The Bears, however, needed only a minute to respond. On the third offensive play, UCA fooled Tech's defense by handing off to Rogers, who bolted 59 yards up the middle for a touchdown, with Morgan's PAT tying the score at 7-7 at the 2:48 mark in the opening period.

Campbell was attempting to throw a pass when his arm was grabbed by a UCA defender, and the officials ruled the play as Tech's second fumble of the game. It gave UCA the ball on its 43, but the Wonder Boys' defense rose to the occasion.

Two plays later, Hobbs put a hit on Bernard Scott and popped the ball loose. Flemons grabbed the loose ball in full stride and cruised 42 yards for a touchdown, making it 14-7 as Ewersmann booted the extra point to end the first quarter.

UCA set up its other first-half touchdown after Leroy Hamilton intercepted Campbell's pass intended for Crooks down the left sideline. The Bears covered 78 yards in nine plays, with Scott running 21 yards around right end for the score and Morgan adding the kick with 7:34 before halftiime.

Tech fumbled the ball on two more occasions and gave the Bears a chance to take the lead. UCA, however, failed to cash in on both opportunities, with Morgan going wide left on a 36-yard field-goal attempt at the 4:35 mark and missing wide right on a 29-yard kick with 1:38 remaining.

The combination of Clark and Fairooz struck for the first time on the opening drive of the second half, connecting for a 27-yard touchdown pass with 11:18 left in the third quarter. Tech answered with a 65-yard drive to tie the score at 21-21, capped by Campbell's 9-yard touchdown pass to Chris Johnson at the 6:18 mark.

It remained that way until the second play of the fourth quarter. Vanhook, who set a new season-high with 28 carries for 189 yards, broke away and ran 68 yards for a touchdown, with Ewersmann's PAT giving Tech a 28-21 lead with 14:06 left in regulation.

Campbell's failed sneak took away what the junior quarterback accomplished in the contest. His two passing touchdowns gave him 25 for the season, tying Todd Cooley for the single-season school record in that deparment, and his 202 yards passing allowed him to set a new single-season record of 2,435, 3 more than Cooley's previous mark.